Instant weekend: Split

You might get lost among the winding lanes of Croatia’s second city, but you’ll never get thirsty

Why should I go? Because there's so much or, if you'd rather (this being the Mediterranean), so little to do. Such history, presented so compactly on a peninsula in Croatia - with sun and a handy wine bar or cafe at every turn. Many centuries ago, the Roman emperor Diocletian (AD245313) quit and retired to Split (previously named Spalatum, after aspalathos, the thorny Spanish broom rife in parts of Dalmatia.) His rambling palace still commands the port like a walled old city, medieval upon Roman.

It's a real (cruise) crowd-puller: a wormy pattern of living ruins redolent of an older, smaller Venice (which once ruled it): glassless windows sport weedy brows; laundry flaps artfully; barley-twist gothic adornments enliven facades; and corinthian columns crumble from walls. Beyond, tall palms and cafes line the gusty Riva waterfront, where days are measured out in a leisurely manner, in white wine, coffee and cat yawns.